editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Ina Jaffe is a veteran NPR correspondent covering the aging of America in all its variety. Her stories on Morning Edition and All Things Considered have focused on older adults' involvement in politics and elections, dating and divorce, work and retirement, fashion and sports, as well as issues affecting long term care and end of life choices. She also has an ongoing spot on Weekend Edition with Scott Simon called "1 in 5" where she discusses issues relevant to the 1/5 of the U.S. population that will be 65 years old or more by 2030.Ina also reports on politics, contributing to NPR's coverage of national elections in 2008, 2010, and 2012.From her base at NPR's production center in Culver City, California, Ina has covered most of the region's major news events from the beating of Rodney King to the election of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She's also developed award-winning enterprise pieces. Her 2012 investigation into how the West Los Angeles VA made millions from renting vacantNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Ina JaffeTue, 22 Nov 2016 20:59:33 +0000Ina Jaffehttp://ksut.org
Ina JaffeSome encouraging news in the battle against Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia: The rate at which older Americans are getting these conditions is declining. That's according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers say one reason for the improved outlook is an increase in education.The study used data gathered in two snapshots, one in 2000 and another in 2012, that each looked at more than 10,000 Americans who were at least 65 years old. In the first snapshot, 11.6 percent of them had some form of dementia. In the second snapshot, it was 8.8 percent.Put in more human terms, "that's well over a million people who don't have dementia, who would have had it if the rates had stayed the same as 2000 rates," says John Haaga, who directs the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging, which funded the study.While the prevalence of dementia cases dropped, the average amount of education in the study population increased.Dementia Risk Declines, And Education May Be One Reason Whyhttp://ksut.org/post/dementia-risk-declines-and-education-may-be-one-reason-why
71029 as http://ksut.orgMon, 21 Nov 2016 23:29:00 +0000Dementia Risk Declines, And Education May Be One Reason WhyIna JaffeCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit MCEVERS, HOST: Donald Trump has agreed to pay $25 million to settle three lawsuits that targeted his now-defunct Trump University real estate seminars. NPR's Ina Jaffe has been following the cases, and she is here in the studio with me now. Hi, Ina. INA JAFFE, BYLINE: Hi. MCEVERS: So what can you tell us about settlement? JAFFE: Well, Trump or his businesses will pay $25 million compensation to the plaintiffs in these suits. And that includes a million dollars to the state of New York. The settlement encompasses a case brought by the state of New York as well as two other cases that are in federal District Court in San Diego. It's unclear at this moment how much money each plaintiff would receive, since these are class-action suits potentially involving thousands of plaintiffs. MCEVERS: Remind us what these cases were about. JAFFE: Well, they were about whether Trump University really did what Donald Trump said it would do. In videos and print adsDonald Trump Reaches $25 Million Settlement In Trump University Casehttp://ksut.org/post/donald-trump-reaches-25-million-settlement-trump-university-case
70972 as http://ksut.orgFri, 18 Nov 2016 23:17:00 +0000Donald Trump Reaches $25 Million Settlement In Trump University CaseIna JaffeHere in Japan, the buckwheat noodles known as soba are a staple. Nowhere more so than in the mountains of the southern island of Shikoku. The soil there is poor. Buckwheat is one of the few crops that will grow. So the region has been known for its soba for centuries.Reiko Tsuzuki, 70, has been carrying on the tradition of soba-making for more than four decades. She runs a small restaurant – Tsuzuki Soba House – in a little village in the remote mountains.She runs the place by herself: preparing and serving the food and pouring endless cups of tea from an enormous brass kettle. As if that weren't enough, she also serenades her guests with a traditional song.It's a song sung by women as they grind the buckwheat for soba by hand. Roughly translated, it goes, "Don't be mean to your daughter in law," the one who would traditionally be stuck with this tedious job, because "someday your daughter will marry and become a daughter-in-law herself."The place where Tsuzuki makes soba is in aJapan's Centuries-Old Tradition Of Making Soba Noodleshttp://ksut.org/post/japans-centuries-old-tradition-making-soba-noodles
68969 as http://ksut.orgSun, 28 Aug 2016 21:10:00 +0000Japan's Centuries-Old Tradition Of Making Soba NoodlesIna JaffeArt can enlighten, soothe, challenge and provoke. Sometimes it can transform a community.Case in point: a 5.5-square-mile island called Naoshima in Japan's Seto Inland Sea.Once upon a time, the biggest employer on Naoshima was a Mitsubishi metals processing plant. Actually, it's still the biggest employer, just not nearly as big as it once was.Blame automation. The population of the island has dropped from around 8,000 in the 1950s and 1960s to a little over 3,000 now.In Japan, this is not that strange. Populations of small towns are declining all over the country. Some towns are disappearing altogether. The reasons are a combination of the country's overall shrinking population and an increase in the number of people moving from rural areas to big cities.Naoshima might have been headed for the same relentless decline.Enter Benesse Holdings, an education and publishing conglomerate based in the nearby city of Okayama. Its best-known brand is Berlitz, the language school company.How Art Transformed A Remote Japanese Island http://ksut.org/post/how-art-transformed-remote-japanese-island
68948 as http://ksut.orgSat, 27 Aug 2016 13:00:00 +0000How Art Transformed A Remote Japanese Island Ina JaffeIn Japan, you sometimes hear the term "village on the edge." What it means is "village on the edge of extinction."Japan's population is declining. And the signs of that are easiest to see in rural areas, like the mountainous interior of the southern island of Shikoku. For example, the village of Nagoro used to have around 300 residents. Now it has 30.Visitors know they've arrived when they see the three farmers in floppy hats resting against a telephone pole by the side of the road. They're always there. They're scarecrows, life-sized figures made of cloth and stuffed with cotton and newspapers.The same goes for the man fishing in the creek a bit farther up the road, and the woman working in the potato field and the people waiting at the bus stop.All of these figures are the work of 67-year-old Tsukimi Ayano. She's been making them for more than a decade.The first one was intended to just be a kakashi, a scarecrow, something to keep the birds from eating the seeds she'd planted.SheA Dying Japanese Village Brought Back To Life — By Scarecrowshttp://ksut.org/post/dying-japanese-village-brought-back-life-scarecrows
68904 as http://ksut.orgFri, 26 Aug 2016 08:46:00 +0000A Dying Japanese Village Brought Back To Life — By ScarecrowsIna JaffeOlder voters might wonder this campaign season whether presidential candidates are taking them for granted. People 65 and older make up more than a fifth of the electorate, but the issues that concern them are rarely mentioned on the campaign trail.Rudy Pavini, 81, and Tommie Ward, 84, recently spent lunchtime dancing at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center north of Los Angeles. It takes their minds off their worries about Social Security."Some people say they're gonna change it, destroy it. And I live on Social Security, so we need more," Pavini says. "We need to live. We can't survive; we'll be out in the street."Ward lives with her niece because she says she doesn't get enough money from Social Security. "If something should happen to her, I don't know what would happen with me," she says.To be fair, candidates have discussed Social Security some. Months ago, Republican candidates talked about cuts, though the apparent nominee, Donald Trump, has said he's against that. DemocratsOlder Voters To Candidates: Don't Forget About Ushttp://ksut.org/post/older-voters-candidates-dont-forget-about-us
66284 as http://ksut.orgTue, 17 May 2016 21:55:00 +0000Older Voters To Candidates: Don't Forget About UsIna JaffeOne of the keys to providing good care in nursing homes is simply having enough staff. The federal government says about a quarter of all nursing home complaints can be traced back to low staffing levels. And studies have connected low staff levels to lousy treatment. The state of New Mexico connects it to fraud.The state's Attorney General is suing a chain of nursing homes, alleging that the facilities were so severely under-staffed, they couldn't possibly have provided the care they charged for. Now New Mexico wants its money back.Lino Lucero is "confidential witness #1" in the lawsuit. In 2007 he and his wife Linda made the tough decision to send Linda's mother, Polly Duran, to a nursing home. Alzheimer's continued to tighten its grip on Duran, and they'd done everything they could for her at home."It got to the point where it was making my wife sick trying to deal 24 hours a day with her," says Lucero.So he and his wife brought his mother-in-law to a nursing home in Santa Fe calledIndustrial Science Hunts For Nursing Home Fraud In New Mexico Casehttp://ksut.org/post/industrial-science-hunts-nursing-home-fraud-new-mexico-case
64979 as http://ksut.orgThu, 31 Mar 2016 20:21:00 +0000Industrial Science Hunts For Nursing Home Fraud In New Mexico CaseIna JaffeCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Gloria Steinem Shares What She Learned 'On The Road'http://ksut.org/post/gloria-steinem-shares-what-she-learned-road
61627 as http://ksut.orgWed, 02 Dec 2015 21:51:00 +0000Gloria Steinem Shares What She Learned 'On The Road'Ina JaffePoverty does not treat men and women equally, especially in old age. Women 65 years old and older who are living in poverty outnumber men in those circumstances by more than 2 to 1. And these women are likely to face the greatest deprivation as they become older and more frail.This pretty much describes the situation of 87-year-old Lydia Smith.In her small, tidy apartment near downtown Los Angeles, she's surrounded by dozens of family photographs. She picks out one and points to her twin sister, her mother and her brother. "Unfortunately, he's gone," she says. "She's gone," she says, pointing to her sister. And "Mama's gone," she says.Smith, a war bride, came to the United States from Rome with her family after World War II. But she got divorced in the 1950s and never remarried. Once her son and daughter were grown, she moved to this second-story walk-up."I've been here 46 years in this apartment," she says. "I have no intention of moving, either."How could she disrupt all of herFor Women, Income Inequality Continues Into Retirementhttp://ksut.org/post/women-income-inequality-continues-retirement
61223 as http://ksut.orgTue, 17 Nov 2015 10:46:00 +0000For Women, Income Inequality Continues Into RetirementIna JaffeAmerica's retirement statistics are grim: About 40 percent of baby boomers have nothing saved for retirement, about a third of Americans who are currently retired rely on Social Security for almost all of their income, and the outlook for current workers isn't much better. About half of private sector employees have no retirement plan on the job.So some state governments are now trying to help them save. A handful have passed laws requiring employers to funnel a small percentage of these workers' pay into an individual retirement account run by the state. New Jersey could be the next to pass such a plan."We need to help them correct the situation," says Vincent Prieto, speaker of New Jersey's General Assembly.Prieto is a primary sponsor of the bill that would create a state-run IRA for people who don't have a retirement plan on the job. Prieto explains that these workers would automatically be enrolled, and then 3 percent of their pay would be forwarded to the state-run plan."Most ofStates To Workers: Let Us Help You Build Your Retirement Savingshttp://ksut.org/post/states-workers-let-us-help-you-build-your-retirement-savings
59856 as http://ksut.orgTue, 06 Oct 2015 22:10:00 +0000States To Workers: Let Us Help You Build Your Retirement SavingsIna Jaffehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLIzzs2HHgY California is often considered the nation's trendsetter. But Republicans running for president better hope that's not true.Their talk about immigration echoes what Californians heard in the 1990s. That's when Proposition 187, a ballot measure viewed as strongly anti-immigrant, was a key to the re-election of California's Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.Anyone who was in California in 1994 probably remembers the infamous campaign commercial for Wilson's re-election. "They keep coming," intoned the narrator over grainy black and white video of people dashing into traffic, as they cross the border from Mexico. "Two million illegal immigrants in California," he says over ominous music.Then Wilson appears on screen saying, "I'm working to deny state services to illegal immigrants. Enough is enough."Wilson was linking himself to Proposition 187, a ballot measure to deny public services, including health care and education, to people in the countryFrom California, A Warning To Republicans On Anti-Immigration Rhetorichttp://ksut.org/post/california-warning-republicans-anti-immigration-rhetoric
58685 as http://ksut.orgTue, 15 Sep 2015 15:42:00 +0000From California, A Warning To Republicans On Anti-Immigration RhetoricIna JaffeDonald Trump has used his wealth, his celebrity and his blunt manner of speaking to blast his way to the top of the polls in the GOP presidential race. It's a phenomenon that's had pundits — and some voters — scratching their heads. Except in California, where larger-than-life celebrity candidates are, like, so 12 years ago.That's when Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was running for governor of California. And he did it in his own inimitable way, on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno."It was the most difficult decision that I've made in my entire life," said Schwarzenegger, with mock sincerity, "except the one in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax."It was a signal that Schwarzenegger was not going to change his flamboyant personality to become governor. A moderate Republican, Schwarzenegger criticized California lawmakers as spending addicts in thrall to special interests. And in the recent Republican debate, Donald Trump showed even less respect for the current crop of electedBefore There Was The Donald, There Was Arnoldhttp://ksut.org/post/there-was-donald-there-was-arnold
57670 as http://ksut.orgWed, 26 Aug 2015 11:03:00 +0000Before There Was The Donald, There Was ArnoldIna JaffeCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: President Obama today is announcing a new regulation to help many Americans save for retirement. It'll take place at the White House Conference on Aging. This is an event that takes place every 10 years. It sets the government's agenda for improving the quality of life for the nation's rapidly aging population. But as NPR's Ina Jaffe reports, this year's conference has been curtailed by a lack of funding.INA JAFFE, BYLINE: One of the events being celebrated at the conference is the 80th anniversary of Social Security. But the average benefit is less than $1,300 a month, not a lot to live on. And about half of all workers have no retirement plan through their jobs.TOM PEREZ: Tens of millions of people are in that boat.JAFFE: Says Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. That's why there's a growing trend for states to create some form of retirement plan for workers without other alternatives, sort of a state-run IRA. Three states haveNeeds Of Retirees Take A Smaller Center Stage At White House Forumhttp://ksut.org/post/needs-retirees-take-smaller-center-stage-white-house-forum
55473 as http://ksut.orgMon, 13 Jul 2015 09:24:00 +0000Needs Of Retirees Take A Smaller Center Stage At White House ForumIna JaffeWant to eat food that's fresh, local and cooked from scratch? Consider a retirement home. Once known for bland, institutional fare, hundreds of retirement communities around the nation now tout their restaurant-like dining experiences.One of those is Bethlehem Woods in La Grange Park, Ill. Resident Marge Healy counts on having dinner with the same group of friends every evening."We're almost like a family," she says, as her friends nod in agreement.They've all been living at Bethlehem Woods for several years. But in the past year, there's been a big change. It's the food. And it's better, says Dolores Groch."Everything is fresh," she says. "Soups made from scratch. And they change the menu so often. I mean, if you were at home cooking, you wouldn't have that many choices."This evening the choices are tilapia with caper butter, baked ham with raisin sauce or a heart-healthy frittata. There's also a selection of soups, salads and sides. It's all been made a few yards away in theMush No More: Retirement Home Food Gets Fresh And Localhttp://ksut.org/post/mush-no-more-retirement-home-food-gets-fresh-and-local
53358 as http://ksut.orgTue, 02 Jun 2015 07:35:00 +0000Mush No More: Retirement Home Food Gets Fresh And LocalIna JaffeCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: Everyone gets dressed in the morning, but Iris Apfel has made it her art form. She is 93 now and a subject of a documentary opening around the country this month titled "Iris." NPR's Ina Jaffe covers aging and caught up with the fashion icon.INA JAFFE, BYLINE: At the beginning of the film before you see Iris Apfel, you hear her. Or more precisely, you hear the clicking of her layers of necklaces and armloads of bracelets.(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "IRIS")IRIS APFEL: I like to improvise. I always think I like to do things as though I'm playing jazz - try this, try that.JAFFE: Under the jewelry are striking garments - sometimes designer pieces, more likely things she picked up on her travels in vintage stores or flea markets - all part of creating what she calls another mad outfit, like the one she was wearing when we met.APFEL: Interesting, I picked the jacket up. It's reversible, and it's either from India or Pakistan. And itDocumentary Spotlights Perfectly Accessorized Iris Apfelhttp://ksut.org/post/documentary-spotlights-perfectly-accessorized-iris-apfel
52246 as http://ksut.orgMon, 11 May 2015 10:13:00 +0000Documentary Spotlights Perfectly Accessorized Iris ApfelIna JaffeWhen a friend or loved one gets sick — really, seriously sick — it's hard to know what to say. So some of us say nothing. Which seems better than saying the wrong thing, though people do that too.Los Angeles graphic designer Emily McDowell's solution to this dilemma are what she calls Empathy Cards. When someone is seriously ill, she says, the usual "Get Well Soon" won't do. Because you might not, she says. At least not soon.McDowell knows this from experience. She's a 15-year survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma. She was just 24 when she was diagnosed."The most difficult thing about my illness was the fact that it was so lonely," she says. One of the reasons was "friends and family either disappearing because they didn't know what to say or well-intentioned people saying the wrong thing. So one of the most difficult things about being sick was feeling really alienated from everyone that I knew."McDowell says she often got well-meaning advice on Internet "cures." "The thing that I felt when itAre You Sick, And Sick Of Hearing 'Everything Happens For A Reason'?http://ksut.org/post/are-you-sick-and-sick-hearing-everything-happens-reason
52100 as http://ksut.orgThu, 07 May 2015 21:49:00 +0000Are You Sick, And Sick Of Hearing 'Everything Happens For A Reason'?Ina JaffeA healthy diet is good for everyone. But as people get older, cooking nutritious food can become difficult and sometimes physically impossible. A pot of soup can be too heavy to lift. And there's all that time standing on your feet. It's one of the reasons that people move into assisted living facilities.But a company called Chefs for Seniors has an alternative: They send professional cooks into seniors' homes. In a couple of hours they can whip up meals for the week.For more than a year, Chef Sina Sundby's been doing just that for 85-year-old client Jim Schulz, who lives in a suburb of Madison, Wis. Her starched white chef's jacket tops a pair of blue jeans, while her strawberry blond hair is tucked under the traditional floppy chef's hat. She's a blur, chopping and mixing while pans sizzle on the stove.Schulz watches, but doesn't interfere."We chatter a lot when it's just the two of us," says Schulz. "And even if I don't say anything, she just keeps talking."Schulz and Sundby bothDrop-In Chefs Help Seniors Stay In Their Own Homeshttp://ksut.org/post/drop-home-chefs-may-be-alternative-assisted-living
51532 as http://ksut.orgMon, 27 Apr 2015 08:32:00 +0000Drop-In Chefs Help Seniors Stay In Their Own HomesIna Jaffe#NPRreads is a new feature we're testing out on Twitter and on The Two-Way. The premise is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers throughout our newsroom will share pieces that have kept them reading. They'll share tidbits on Twitter using the #NPRreads hashtag, and on occasion we'll share a longer take here on the blog.This week, we bring you four reads:From Ina Jaffe, a correspondent on NPR's National Desk:There would be no This American Life or any of the other ubiquitous storytelling shows on public radio without the late actor Spalding Gray. He virtually invented the autobiographical monologue as a theater form. His work was often gasp-for-air funny, which it turns out, masked a long struggle with depression. In this New Yorker piece, neurologist Oliver Sacks speculates that a head injury from a car accident was instrumental in Gray's 2004 suicide. An excerpt:"Now, two years after the accident, on his first visit to us, Spalding entered the consulting room slowly, carefully#NPRreads: Rube Goldberg Machine's Dark Origins And Spalding Gray's Last Dayshttp://ksut.org/post/nprreads-rube-goldberg-machines-dark-origins-and-spalding-grays-last-days
51456 as http://ksut.orgFri, 24 Apr 2015 23:51:00 +0000#NPRreads: Rube Goldberg Machine's Dark Origins And Spalding Gray's Last DaysIna JaffeSexual relationships in long-term care facilities are not uncommon. But the long-term care industry is still grappling with the issue.There's no greater evidence of that than a criminal case in Iowa. On Wednesday, a jury in Iowa found a 78-year-old man not guilty of raping his wife, who had Alzheimer's disease. Henry Rayhons' wife lived in a nursing home. The staff there told Rayhons that because of her dementia, his wife was no longer capable of consenting to sex. He had been charged with sexual assault for allegedly having sex with her after that.But at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, N.Y., the fact that some people with dementia still have sex lives isn't news. That facility has had a written policy to help staff manage such relationships for 20 years."It was controversial in 1995 and it's controversial today," says Daniel Reingold, the CEO of RiverSpring Health, the nonprofit that runs the Hebrew Home."We knew that there was intimacy occurring, and we considered it to be a civilCan A Person With Dementia Consent To Sex? http://ksut.org/post/can-person-dementia-consent-sex
51309 as http://ksut.orgWed, 22 Apr 2015 19:49:00 +0000Can A Person With Dementia Consent To Sex? Ina Jaffe#NPRreads is a new feature we're testing out on Twitter and on The Two-Way. The premise is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers throughout our newsroom will share pieces that have kept them reading. They'll share tidbits on Twitter using the #NPRreads hashtag, and on occasion we'll share a longer take here on the blog.This week, we share with you five reads.From Ina Jaffe, a correspondent on NPR's National Desk:For bike racing fans, nothing says "Spring is here!" like the race known as The Hell of the North. That's the nearly 160-mile race from Paris to the French city of Roubaix on the border with Belgium. What makes Paris-Roubaix hell is the often wet, still-wintry weather and the 30-plus miles of cobblestone paths along the route. The Wall Street Journal profiled Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix, a volunteer group of locals who tend to the venerable cobblestones. An excerpt:"The techniques haven't changed much. Replacing each stone is like an exercise in macro-dentistry, a root#NPRreads: From The Hell Of The North To 'Trash' Foodhttp://ksut.org/post/nprreads-hell-north-trash-food
51050 as http://ksut.orgFri, 17 Apr 2015 18:38:00 +0000#NPRreads: From The Hell Of The North To 'Trash' Food